India pacer Varun Aaron was picked by Kings XI Punjab for Rs2.8 crore at the auction on Monday and the bowler says that he can’t wait to team up with mentor Virender Sehwag.

New Delhi: He has been out of the Indian team for more than a year and pacer Varun Aaron feels that the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League could provide him with the perfect opportunity to break back into the national fold.

Aaron was picked by Kings XI Punjab for Rs2.8 crore at the auction on Monday and the bowler says that he can’t wait to team up with former India opener Virender Sehwag. While Sehwag is the mentor, it is understood that all major cricketing decisions will be made keeping him in the loop.

Speaking to CricketNext, Aaron said that he is excited about picking on Sehwag’s brain and improve his skills as he aims to make a comeback to the national fold.

“To be honest, I am looking forward to working with Sehwag and picking his brain. I had earlier played with him during my stint with Delhi Daredevils and I am looking forward to joining him now in Punjab. The amount of knowledge he has is amazing and also he is always available to help you with his inputs. I am really excited to be a part of the KXIP franchise.

“It isn’t the best feeling when you are out of the Indian team for around a year. But I am looking to change that with the IPL. I had a couple of good IPL seasons in 2014 and 2015 before a mediocre one last year. And I want to perform well this time and take KXIP to the title. I have always loved playing in Mohali and we have a good team this time round so I am really positive,” he said.

Asked about his own game, as he was laid low by a heel injury during the Ranji Trophy season, Aaron can’t stop laughing about his tryst with freak injuries.

“I felt a pain in the game against Maharashtra and was initially told that I will miss action for three and a half weeks. But as luck would have it, I had to sit out the whole of the Ranji Trophy. What do I say? I guess you just have to take it in your stride and come back stronger. You can’t do much about injuries. But yes, to be fair, I last had a serious injury way back in 2011-12 when I was laid low by the back injury. Hopefully things get better from here on,” he said.

While there is no set pattern to succeed when it comes to a format like T20, KXIP have been one of the most inconsistent teams over the last nine years. But Aaron is confident that the boys will change things around this time round.

“See, you can’t predict much when it comes to this format. But we do have a good side this time round and I am confident that if we play to potential, we can change things around. We had some good buys at the auction — Eoin Morgan, Martin Guptill and uncapped star T Natarajan among others — and let’s keep our fingers crossed,” he signed off.